Sr atom interferometry with the optical clock transition as a gravimeter and a gravity gradiometer

Atom interferometry gravity-gradiometer for the determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant G

We developed a gravity-gradiometer based on atom interferometry for the determination of the Newtonian gravitational constant G. The apparatus, combining a Rb fountain, Raman interferometry and a juggling scheme for fast launch of two atomic clouds, was specifically designed to reduce possible systematic effects. We present instrument performances and show that the sensor is able to detect the ...

Measurement of the Earth’s Gravity Gradient with an Atom Interferometer-Based Gravity Gradiometer

Measurement of the gradient of gravitational fields has important scientific and technical applications. These applications range from measurement of G, the gravitational constant, and tests of general relativity [1,2] to covert navigation, underground structure detection, oil-well logging, and geodesy [3]. This Letter describes the development of a gravity gradiometer whose operation is based ...

A cold atom pyramidal gravimeter with a single laser beam

Single-atom optical clock with high accuracy.

For the past 50 years, atomic standards based on the frequency of the cesium ground-state hyperfine transition have been the most accurate time pieces in the world. We now report a comparison between the cesium fountain standard NIST-F1, which has been evaluated with an inaccuracy of about 4 x 10(-16), and an optical frequency standard based on an ultraviolet transition in a single, laser-coole...

iSense: A Portable Ultracold-Atom-Based Gravimeter

We present iSense, a recently initiated FET project aiming to use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to develop a platform for portable quantum sensors based on cold atoms. A prototype of backpack-size highprecision force sensor will be built to demonstrate the concept. © Selection and peer-review under responsibility of FET11 conference organizers and published by Elsevier B.V.